


Following Your Heart's Desire

by RikuKingdomHearts3



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Ardyn Izunia Being Ardyn Izunia, Eventual Happy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28411647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikuKingdomHearts3/pseuds/RikuKingdomHearts3
Summary: Prompto had been pushed off the train. Noctis had pushed Prompto off the train thinking he was Ardyn. He had PUSHED PROMPTO OFF THE TRAIN! There was only one thing on Noctis's mind now, and in a split second he made a decision… a choice that would change everything… he jumped off the train to save Prompto.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 16
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! It is time for yet another new story! This is one story I have been waiting to write about for a long while and now the time has finally come to do so. 
> 
> Thank you so much to my friend hunny k for beta reading it and for all my friends in the chocobros server who helped support this idea and helped with things like the title!!

Noctis felt like he couldn't breathe; everything was closing up in his chest. The event that had just happened was still burning his mind and heart. He couldn't even begin to wrap his head around it. Had it all really been another trick? Was it really all a trick this entire time?

Had he really just pushed Prompto off the train?

OH GODS.

HE HAD PUSHED PROMPTO OFF THE TRAIN.

HE PUSHED PROMPTO OFF A _MOVING_ TRAIN!

Prompto was back there somewhere. Somewhere… probably hurt, crippled… or worse. No… Noctis couldn't bring himself to think of the worst. He needed to do something. He had to do something. He couldn't just stand here and freak out about it! He had to go after Prompto!

"How long were you in the dark?"

He could hear Ardyn speaking from behind him, but none of the words were processing. Everything was a rush in his head, blending it all together. He wanted to turn around and face Ardyn, the real Ardyn. He wanted to actually take him down this time. But Noctis's legs were already feeling weak like paper. He wasn't sure if he was going to even have the strength to face the man now. Instead there was something much more important on his mind; he had to make his move now before it was too late.

Without even looking back at Ardyn, Noctis threw his Engine Blade off the train and warped after it, leaving Ardyn looking completely baffled and far from amused.

What Noctis wasn't expecting was the ground to come up on him so quickly. Even warping couldn't stop the painful impact of his legs meeting the ground before he started to tumble. Noctis shouted as he felt the pain shoot through his entire body.

When he stopped moving, he reached out to break a Hi-Potion over his body. It healed up any cuts or open wounds he may have had, but sadly,potions could not heal the bruises or the pain. Once the potion's magic died down, he was finally able to look around. He was on the ground with the train long gone from sight, and thankfully no Ardyn looming over him.

Now that everything felt stable, he had to get up and find Prompto. The train hadn't been moving too fast, so he knew Prompto couldn't have been all too far behind where he was. But Noctis soon found out that this was going to be much harder than he thought. As soon as he tried to stand, there was a horrid burning pain that flew up his left leg. The jump and tumble to the ground must have really set off his bad leg, and no potion could ever heal those wounds. Only time and a lot of patience.

But again, he pushed all of that out of his mind. He would warp to Prompto if he had to, but first he would try to see how much he could manage while walking. It only took him a few feet to realize he was in too much pain to move a long distance. Sighing, he threw one of his smaller daggers and warped after it. He kept on going until he hit stasis.

He breathed out as he realized just how bad his situation was. He had just jumped off the train after Prompto, and that meant he left Ardyn on the train with Ignis and Gladio! Cursing under his breath, Noctis pulled out his phone as he waited for his magic to replenish and be out of stasis. But, when he pulled out his phone from his pocket, he let out another series of curses.

It was cracked… cracked beyond normal repair, and no amount of pressing any button was turning it on. " _Great. Just great! Now what am I supposed to do!"_ he thought to himself harshly.

He stood there for a moment, trying to think over what it was that he could do. He had run ahead again without thinking. He couldn't even remember what happened on the top of the train other than he thought he had pushed Ardyn off, only for it to be Prompto instead.

" _I can't believe I fell for that creep's tricks!"_

Noctis shoved the phone back into his pocket and started to warp again. He only had to go a little further before he could see Prompto's body laying on the ground. That didn't sit well with him at all.

Despite the throbbing pain in his leg, he limped over to Prompto, dropping to his knees once he was near. He could see the bruises and blood on the blond's body and it made Noctis feel sick in every way possible. He had done this… this was all this fault.

He didn't even waste a second more; he took out a Hi-Potion and broke it over Prompto's body and then did it once more with another one. He didn't care if he was wasting his potions; he needed to heal Prompto as soon as possible. Though he realized there was one important thing he should have done from the start. Carefully he checked to see if Prompto was even breathing, pressing two fingers to his neck. A sigh of relief followed when he felt the steady heartbeat of his dear friend.

Noctis ran a hand through his hair as he waited, trying to think over what else he could do. Prompto was still breathing slowly, but his eyes started to flutter open. He suddenly gasped and tried to move back, covering his face with his arms.

Once again Noctis was feeling sick. He had never seen Prompto look at him in such a manner. He had never seen Prompto stare at him with _fear_. All the things he did and all the things he said to Prompto was when he thought he was Ardyn. Noctis had a feeling that Prompto didn't know about any of that, and so to him, he just saw his best friend attacking him and blaming him for everything. 

"Oh gods, Prompto," Noctis said, finally finding his voice. He had found it, but it was broken and weak now, barely able to keep steady. "I'm so sorry… I'm sorry…"

"N-Noct…?" Prompto asked, his voice just as weak.

"I'm so stupid…I fell for his stupid game. I'm sorry, Prom…"

Noctis leaned forward, trying to wrap his arms slowly around Prompto. He still flinched upon Noctis's touch, but he wasn't going to stop. He was already half way and he needed to try and keep going. Now holding Prompto in his arms, he felt everything break inside of him.

He just wasn't able to contain himself. Pushing Prompto off the train, realizing all the things that had been said, coming across Prompto who could have been near death if he wasn't as quick. It was all just too awful to consider.

"Noct…" he heard Prompto whisper to him. Slowly, Noctis could feel Prompto wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "H-Hey dude, no need to cry… or anything. It's okay."

"It's not okay! Don't say it is!" Noctis yelled, causing Prompto to flinch within his arms. "N-No, Prom… I'm sorry again. I can't keep scaring you like this. I'm just… I screwed up and that is not okay. I didn't mean anything that I said to you… I didn't even realize it was you."

"W-What…? What does that even… wait… Ardyn."

"Yeah it was him. He was messing with my head or something. I just saw him and heard his voice and didn't even think anything else. Please… I never meant anything that I said to you. It was all supposed to be towards Ardyn."

"You… mean it?" Prompto asked softly.

"Of course. It's him who I'm angry at. Not you. I could never be mad at you."

Prompto gripped Noctis's jacket tightly, his fingers trying to crush the fabric together. He seemed to have been holding back a sob, but now he was letting it show. It made Noctis want to hold him all the more tightly. Noctis honestly didn't care if Prompto saw him cry, but to see Prompto cry? The man who was literally sunshine in a physical form? It hurt all over.

But Prompto was safe. He was alive. That was what mattered most. Now feeling a little more relief, he ran his hand through his hair. Prompto still needed to calm down, and Noctis was sure this could help alleviate some of his stresses.

"Come on," he said finally. "We need to get somewhere safe. Need to try and call Gladio and Iggy. Is your phone okay? Mine got crushed in the fall."

"Uh, hopefully? Lemme check," Prompto said before he let go of Noctis.

Pulling out his phone, both of the boys sighed when they saw the state that it was in. "Well, it's just a bit cracked. Maybe we can still get it to work,"

"Prompto, I don't think that it'll-"

"We gotta try, though!" Prompto said as he smacked his phone lightly, as if that would make it turn on. "We can't just be stuck out here! The train is long gone and… and if we're…"

Noctis could already see the signs that Prompto was beginning to panic. It felt like it had been ages since Prompto last had a serious panic attack. With everything else going on, he seemed to have focused on helping Ignis mostly. But now there was nothing for him to do, nothing for him to put his focus on to keep him from hyperventilating.

Pulling him back into another hug, Noctis rested his head on top on top of Prompto's. "Hey, we're going to make it. Come on, let's try to see if we can find a place where we can rest up a bit better. You think you can stand?"

"Y-Yeah probably. How about you though?"

"I'll be fine. We'll work together, all right?"

Slowly, Noctis stood up, even though his legs were still burning from before. He held out his hand and helped Prompto up to his own feet. After that he tried to walk a few feet, but the muscles in his legs were already trying to give out. Before he could crumple to the ground, Prompto managed to catch him and pull him back up.

Now with one arm around him for support, Prompto tried to walk ahead, leading Noctis next to him. "Looks like we better find a place to sit soon. How bad's the leg?"

"It's been worse."

"Is there something really worse than being pushed…" Prompto swallowed. "F-Falling off a train?"

Noctis cursed quietly. "Shit… I'm sorry. I still really am. I can't even imagine what that must have… well, you know…"

"But weren't you pushed off by Ardyn or something?" Prompto said, avoiding all talk on what his experience was being shoved from a moving train. "How else did you even end up here?"

Noctis shook his head. "No. I jumped off. Well… I warped. Still didn't go too well for me in the end."

"But that's basically jumping off a train! Like what you'd see in the movies! But actually painful! You…you really did that?"

"Yeah… I had to. I wasn't about to leave you behind."

"But what about Iggy and Gladio?"

Noctis sighed as he lowered his head. "I know… they're going to have my head for this. But seriously as soon as I saw you go overboard. There was nothing else on my mind but you. I didn't care what they would say if they were with me in the moment."

"O-Oh…" Prompto replied, his cheeks reddening. "Tha… thanks."

Noctis pulled Prompto in closer, brushing his face against his. "Don't feel like you weren't worth it. Cause you are always worth it to me."

"Really, Noct, thanks. So, um… now what?"

"I don't know… head back the way we came, I guess we need a proper place to rest, and out in the middle of nowhere isn't going to help. So the train yard would be our best bet."

"Will you make it, though? You know, with…" Prompto glanced down to Noctis's legs.

Noctis breathed in sharply, feeling a bit of pain as he stepped forward. This was not going to be an easy journey for him, but he couldn't let Prompto worry anymore than he already was. "I'll be fine. I got you here, anyway. That's what matters."

"Right… okay. Let's keep moving, then."

With their arms around each other, they kept their slow and steady pace. Prompto kept a sharp look out around them, to see if there were any enemies or creatures that could be lurking.

As far as they could see, there wasn't anything to worry about. Even if there was, Noctis wasn't sure if he was ready to fight. His legs were still burning with pain, and he knew that walking wasn't helping them at all, but he wasn't just going to sit and let enemies come to them. The best course of action was to move someplace where they could hide, even if that place was the train yard where a lot of the commotion had just happened. He just wasn't sure what else to do at the moment. Everything was still swirling in his head and in his gut. Prompto's expressions were still burned to his eyes.

The fear.

The panic.

He had been the reason for these emotions in Prompto. It was his fault that Prompto was shaken up like this. Sure, he still blamed Ardyn for being the one to orchestrate it all, but he still fell for it in the end. He was still too angry and foolish to really think before he acted, and this was the cost. He could only hope that he would be able to make it up to Prompto somehow… maybe one day.

Together, they kept on walking until they arrived at the train yard that they were at earlier. Prompto stopped walking, warranting Noctis to stop as well. "Okay, I'll look ahead okay? Just stay close but let me lead."

"Prom, no. I'll lead."

"You're the one who's still hurt," Prompto argued. "Let me check if the coast is clear, okay?"

Noctis opened his mouth to argue again, but Prompto took a few steps forward. He looked ready to summon his gun, but then he stopped. "Wait, I… I don't have my gun anymore."

"What do you mean you don't have it? Shouldn't it be in the armiger…" Noctis trailed off when the memories flashed back into his mind. He thought Ardyn was the one holding the gun. He had swatted the gun out of Ardyn's hands, but it was really Prompto the entire time.

"Crap. Sorry…" Noctis sighed. "It's my fault…"

"Don't blame yourself again. You didn't know," Prompto replied quietly.

"You don't have any other guns left, do you?"

Prompto shook his head. "No we sold them, remember? So we could buy the better gun, plus more potions and stuff."

"Yeah… true. You, um, wanna use one of mine, then? I know you're a guns kind of guy, but you need something to defend yourself."

"Sure, Just give me something not too big and clunky."

Noctis summoned his Ragnarok sword and handed it over to Prompto. "This is a light one; will this do?"

"Your glowy red sword that makes for awesome pictures?" Prompto said, trying to crack a grin. "Yeah, that'll work!"

He gave a nod after that and went to move ahead. After a moment, he nodded again, motioning for Noctis to follow after him, and the two entered the yard, seeing that it was void of all life. With that in mind, they headed forward, no plan at all, but all they needed was a place to rest. Maybe with rest and with time they could figure out just what it was they needed to do.

Though, while he was worrying for the two of them, he couldn't help but think back to Ignis and Gladio. They were on their own now with Ardyn still on the train, and Noctis had no idea if Ardyn was going to pull another stunt like he had before. Maybe if they could find a phone, he would warn them.

With his eyes closed, he sent out a small prayer, even though he was not one to normally do so. He let that prayer float around in his head, wishing that Ignis and Gladio would be safe through the rest of the train journey. He didn't know what else could happen, but if Ardyn and daemons were still there, he only could hope they could find a way to be safe. He wasn't even sure if he was doing it right, but he knew he had to give it a try.

After his thoughts were done, he could have sworn he heard or felt something. Some unintelligible words that he couldn't figure out. Maybe it was one of the Astrals responding, speaking in that language he could not comprehend. Either way, the small feeling it left him gave him at least a bit of reassurance that his friends would be okay. Now all that was left was to keep moving forward with Prompto, and to figure out what to do next.

* * *

Ignis and Gladio were still up in the engine room. Daemons were still crawling all over the train, but there wasn't a whole lot that they could do about it at this point. What was more frustrating was that neither Prompto nor Noctis were answering their phones. Ignis already knew that they were probably busy fighting, what with everything that happened, but it still worried him that after all this time they couldn't answer.

"Relax, Iggy," Gladio said. "Give them a chance. There's probably a fuck-ton of daemons that they're dealing with."

"I know," Ignis replied curtly. "But after a certain point, I am allowed to express my worries."

"Oh, worry you should," a sly voice cut in before Gladio could reply.

Ignis tensed up, and he heard Gladio summon his sword and moved in front of him. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Oh, I was just enjoying a nice little trip. Beautiful view, is it not?" Ardny asked coldy. There was something in his voice Ignis could tell was off. He was speaking in his usual sly and cunning manner, but there was something else, too. It was hard to tell just based on the little that he had heard, but he kept on listening carefully.

"But I would say that something's missing, wouldn't you agree?"

"What did you do to them?" Gladio accused sharply.

"Me?" Ardyn gawked. "Well, I didn't do a thing. It was all your prince, being completely reckless and warping off of a moving train."

"He did _what_?!" Ignis gasped, even though internally he scolded himself for believing such things.

"Yes, it was quite the spectacle. After he shoved off his dear precious friend, he decided to jump off after him. I would have stopped him, but he left before I could intervene."

Gladio grumbled. "Yeah, right. Like we're supposed to believe that."

Ardyn hummed softly. "I never said you had to believe me, but seeing as your prince and his little friend aren't here to tell their side of the tale, I'm afraid I'm all that you have."

"Why else are you here?" Ignis said, trying his best to keep calm.

"I thought it would be kind of me to inform you of what happened, but I can see that I have no hospitality here."

Ignis could hear Ardyn turning around, his footsteps heading towards the door. "Oh, and if you do wish to see your prince and his friend again, keep moving forward to Gralea. I assure you that you will be able to reunite with them there. And perhaps you will even find your precious crystal there too."

Without another word, he was gone, and both Ignis and Gladio let him. Ignis knew all too well that challenging Ardyn again would no doubt end badly. He did not want to risk anything more at the time, especially when on the train with innocent people. But inside he was fuming, wishing he could have gone after Ardyn again. It took every ounce of his will to hold himself back from another full on attack. Thankfully Gladio was there, and he knew even if he tried, he would have been stopped.

"So now what?" Gladio grumbled. "He can't be telling the truth, right?"

"I would not put it past him to lie, but on the other hand, it may be more of a risk to go back and try and look for them."

"What? Iggy, are you-"

"If we turn around and head back trying to look for them when they move forward looking for us, there is a high chance that we will miss them. I have a sinking feeling that Ardyn may even say a few choice words to Noct and Prompto. If he wants to lead us to Gralea, then so be it, especially if the crystal is in fact there."

"But Noct and Prompto. Shouldn't we find some way to contact them?" Gladio asked.

Ignis sighed. "Well, if you can make them answer their phones, then be my guest. But there is a good chance they either don't have their phones, or worse-Ardyn has taken them for the sole purpose to make us unable to contact them. We can only hope that they can reach a phone to call us in another way."

"Right…" Gladio sighed as he turned back to the controls of the train. "We should make a stop as soon as we can, drop off the people and form a better plan. I just hope they're doing okay."

"I hope that as well… we can only assume that they are together, and then the rest is left up to the fate put out in front of us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah I have been wanting to write a story of a "What if Noctis jumped after Prom" cause you know he totally would have if Ardyn hadn't knocked him out. 
> 
> Anyways thank you all for reading and see you in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are back! Thank you all for waiting, and hello to any new comers to the story! It's been a long wait but let's jump right back into it. 
> 
> But of course thanks to hunny k for the beta read!

Prompto and Noctis searched the entire train yard, and yet there was still no sign of anyone. They had managed to get over to an area where they could sit, but even then Noctis felt jittery. He didn't know what to do at this point, and the more time that passed, the worst he felt.

Their phones were still broken, and all phone lines had been cut at this train yard. There was no way he could get in contact with Ignis and Gladio. Not here, at least. They were miles from any place that was safe from the Empire.

"Gotta figure out something…"

Prompto headed back over to where Noctis sat, placing the sword he had been using against the bench. He flopped down next to Noctis and sighed. "No one's here. It's a complete ghost train yard."

"Well at least we don't have to worry about being jumped," Noctis sighed.

"But now we need to figure out what to do. We can't contact Ignis or Gladio, and I don't think there are any phones here."

"I guess the best thing we can do is either find a place to call them, or head on to where we were headed."

"By ourselves? Do we get, like, another train?"

Noctis thought about that idea. It was a possibility that another train could come by in the end, but it left open too many loose ends. So he shook his head. "Too risky. We'd have to wait a while for the train, but also we don't know who'd be running it."

Prompto shifted, looking a little less confident. "You mean it could be Ardyn?"

"Could be," Noctis spat. "Wouldn't put it past him at this rate. He's ruined everything!"

"Hey, hey," Prompto started to say as he placed a hand on Noctis's back. "I know he caused a lot of issues, some worse than others… but we'll get back at him. Right? We can do it together."

Noctis sighed, trying to give some more thought to the situation. He wished he could easily give an answer, but sadly it couldn't be that simple. "I know, but I'm personally going to get back at him for that train stunt."

Suddenly a cold gust of air blew through the area. The two boys shuddered, and Noctis pulled his jacket a little tighter. Prompto, on the other hand, couldn't do that. He always wore sleeveless outfits, and now being closer to Niflheim, which was covered in snow, probably didn't make it any better.

Noctis started looking around the area again, trying to remember what he had seen before. "There's a station store here, right? We should look and see if they got anything warmer we could use. It's only going to get colder once we get to Gralea."

"Wait! We're still going to head out there somehow?"

Noctis pulled out the map from the armiger. "If we can't get a train, we'll most likely have to walk."

"Walk? All the way to Gralea?! Isn't that a bit insane?"

Noctis thought for a moment before he gave a shrug. "Not entirely? Here, look at the map."

Noctis set the map down. "We're here at this little train yard. Now, walking all the way around to Tenebrae… it would take too long. Probably too dangerous since most of that land is elevated train tracks. We need to find a way to cut through to the other side that isn't too hazardous. Looks like if we head back in the direction of Cartanica there's a pass way through the mountains. Just a little past the beige area here, it looks like we can walk through."

"But dude, that still means we still have to walk through miles of snow! And going over the regular bridge area too!"

"Well it's either try and cut our way through to get to Gralea or head all the way back to Cartanicia to try and get in contact with Gladio and Ignis."

Prompto hummed, taking a moment to study Noctis's expression. "But what about Tenebrae?"

Noctis's expression wavered, his eyes drifting to the ground. "I doubt Ignis and Gladio would want me wasting anymore time. Should just get to where we were going, right?"

"Oh, you are right, indeed," a familiar chilling voice said.

Prompto and Noctis jumped to their feet, Noctis taking a few steps in front of Prompto to protect him. He breathed in deeply, looking in every direction, waiting for the moment when he could finally attack and get the revenge he wanted. His blood was already boiling, and as soon as he saw Ardyn, he knew he was going to pounce.

Only when Ardyn did appear before them, Noctis's blood decided to run cold. He thought he could have done it, but all that courage drained the moment he saw those golden eyes. Stepping back, he instead wrapped his arm around Prompto. He needed to never let Prompto leave his sight this time. Never again was he going to let himself be tricked by Ardyn.

Holding out his Engine Blade, he glared towards the taller man. "What the hell do you want?"

"Such hostility. So very unkingly," Ardyn taunted. "All I bring is information and I am met with disdain."

"There's nothing I want to hear from you!" Noctis hissed. "Now get out of here before I lodge this sword in your chest."

"Nothing? I find that hard to believe," Ardyn scoffed. "I thought knowing where you Adviser and Shield are headed would be of grave importance."

Noctis flinched, uncomfortable at just how Ardyn could make his skin crawl. "I have no reason to believe you."

"And what do you have to believe? Just going to wait and see if your friends will return? From what I heard they were heading onward to Gralea still," Ardyn said with a dramatic shrug.

"Why?"

"Because that's where they believe you're headed, of course. What other reason could there possibly be?"

Gritting his teeth, Noctis tried stepping forward slightly. He kept his grip tightly on Prompto, still unable to let him out of his sight. "How can I believe you?! What fucking reasoning would I _ever_ believe you?"

Ardyn only smiled, stepping back. "You were heading there originally, yes? And now they believe you are still heading there. Wouldn't you say it's better to head to your original plan? Or would you rather take a shot in the dark and head in the opposite direction? I'll leave you to decide."

Ardyn then faded from their vision, leaving nothing but the barren train yard around them. Noctis was breathing deeply as he turned to face Prompto, staring into his wide and concerned eyes.

"Prompto, you still with me?"

"Yeah! Of course!" Prompto said. "That was just… were not just going to believe him, are we?"

Noctis sighed, feeling a mix of emotions. He couldn't tell which was way right and which way was wrong. Usually he had Ignis for this stuff, but he was on his own with Prompto. Neither of them were very good at dealing with these types of situations. It was always Ignis who knew what to do and lead the group. Without him, Noctis realized just how useless he really was on his own.

"Noct?"

Noctis snapped away from his thoughts. "Huh? What?"

"You zoned out there for a minute. You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Noctis said, probably a little too quickly, but it seemed that Prompto didn't catch it.

"Let's-" he paused, sucking in another deep breath. "Let's just start making our way to Gralea. We can't waste any more time."

"But that's still heading through miles of snow! Where are we going to get gear to stay warm?"

"This train yard has an outpost, right? Maybe there's some gear we can get before heading out."

The two moved on, heading towards the small outpost that was at the back end of the train yard. It was vacant like the rest of the place, but everything seemed to be well stocked. There was food and even gear for trekking through the winter weather.

Prompto and Noctis picked up snow suits and boots for themselves before headed back out. Noctis checked around again before pulling out the map. He checked again where they had to head and started to walk to the front of the area.

Turning towards Prompto, he held out his hand. "Ready to go?"

"I guess so. Not much else that we can do here."

"Right, so let's go."

Walking together, they headed back in the direction of Cartanica. Moving across the tracks, they moved quickly, not wanting to waste any more time than they already had. By the time they got to the bridge, they took the time to move a little more carefully.

It didn't take long before they had passed over it, and by then they could already tell that the temperature was dropping. Pulling off to the side after the bridge, they went to put on their new snow gear. Noctis looked over at Prompto when he saw that he was finished first. He never really had seen Prompto in long sleeves. Even in high school Prompto always had his sleeves rolled up, never once having them all the way down.

Now he was all in black, with a few minor other colors, but that didn't matter. It was just a sleek and comfy looking snow outfit, but it was making Noctis's heart skip a beat. Prompto was rather cute like that, all the way down to the winter boots.

"What?" Prompto asked. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, n-nothing," Noctis shook his head quickly. There was no time for thoughts like that, anyway. Whatever this feeling was, Noctis figured he could deal with it later.

"Hey! Would you look at that!" Prompto exclaimed rather cheerfully. "We're like twinsies!"

Noctis couldn't help but let out a snort. Prompto always had such a cute and amusing outlook that could help brighten the mood. "Twinsies?"

"It sounds more fun than just 'twins,' y'know!" Prompto laughed.

"Are you going to take a selfie of us or something?"

Prompto's eyes widened before softening. "Oh. Oh… I guess we could. With everything that happened, I almost forgot that I could do that."

"Hey, you don't gotta worry about it. Remember what I said? It's not your fault and everything I said was meant towards Ardyn," Noctis said as he placed a hand on Prompto's shoulder. "Besides, the winter landscape would be great for some good pics, right?"

"Yeah, you're right about that," Prompto said as he pulled his camera out from the armiger. "Now let's get this shot, okay?"

Noctis smiled as he leaned into frame, bringing his face in closer to Prompto's. Like usual, Prompto slung an arm around Noctis while extending the other. He smiled widely and clicked the button.

When Prompto's arm pulled away, Noctis swore that he felt five times colder than he did before. Being near Prompto brought warmth as it obviously would, but right now it felt more true than ever. Part of him wished he could hold Prompto right by his side, never letting him go again.

But, that was part of _those_ thoughts again. Those pesky thoughts that had been invading his head ever since he jumped off the train. Maybe it was the adrenaline still kicking in him, amplifying his feelings. He was almost certain there had never been this much care and worry over Prompto. Then again, when he thought back on it, he had always cared for Prompto. Ever since they first properly met in high school, Noctis had taken a liking to Prompto.

Prompto treated him like a regular person, something Noctis cherished deeply. It was all genuine, too. Every word and action Prompto did around Noctis wasn't an act. He never was acting like that to try and get something from him. All of his honesty and friendship was truthful, and it really made the difference from the royal life. That was just part of the reason why Noctis was so in love with Prompto.

" _Wait…"_ Noctis's thoughts hissed at himself. He was walking alongside Prompto, who thankfully was distracted by the snow that was starting to fall. With him trying to take some pictures as they walked, it gave Noctis enough time to let his thoughts run wild.

" _Was I just…? Have I really been thinking about Prompto that way? This entire time? Fuck. Of course I love him."_ Noctis sighed deeply to himself. Part of him was surprised he hadn't realized it sooner. " _It took a literal life or death situation that was caused by my own stupidity to realize I love him."_

Trudging through the snow, Noctis reflected back on everything. Every moment he had shared with Prompto, trying to pinpoint the very moment his feelings must have changed. Had it been just recently? Since the start of the trip? Or did it start during their high school years and Noctis just denied any feelings because he didn't understand them?

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out the 'when' of it. But in the end, he didn't see it as mattering. He loved Prompto, but there was no way he could ever tell him. He could never tell him how he felt, especially after that stunt on the train. He knew Prompto understood that it was Ardyn who caused him to act out, but that didn't mean the words were erased.

Even though those words were never meant for Prompto, he just accepted them and everything else Noctis had tried to do. He was too good of a friend to ever fight back. Part of that hurt, knowing Prompto was willing to let Noctis practically choke him as he spat hateful words.

To Noctis, Prompto was so pure and full of light. Prompto was _his_ light. The one who saved him from falling into a dark and lonely place of people always serving him. Sure, he had Ignis and Gladio, but Prompto was that outsider that made him feel more human. Prompto was that piece of him that he needed to not lose his mind to his inner loneliness.

" _I really love him, don't I?"_ Noctis asked himself. " _I can't tell him. No. Can't let him know about my stupid, selfish desires. Just, I'll keep this to myself. As long as Prompto's by my side, even as just my friend, it'll be good enough."_


End file.
